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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wound — an injury
  4. roll — a list
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — hurry
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cell — a phone
  24. roll — a cake

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com